Transformers: Vigilance
by KotoriRod
Summary: High school days were a troubling one, especially when you move out after nearly losing everyone you knew in your life. Join four teenagers as they get pulled into a strange yet exciting adventure while also doing their best to live out their lives as normal as possible... YEAH RIGHT! [Better summary inside]
1. Class at Tranquility High

_One would wonder why anyone would think of transferring to another school with just a month before the end of the year. Well, tell that to four teenagers who moved from California to finish their last month of school and their summer vacation. Meanwhile, a young man in Qatar will have to survive the near coming of the destruction of his home away from home. In the District of Columbia in the US, a young woman and her program will assist in cracking a signal in which will reveal a secret that has been long hidden for decades. All lives will be brought together by hands of fate as all will find that their lives will never become the same ever again. Can either of them be able to fight through this while keeping their own selves out of harm's way?_

_**May 7**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Tranquility, Nevada<br>Tranquility High School  
>7:37 AM PDT<strong>_

Standing in a room full of strangers can make anyone uncomfortable. It makes it worse when you are already the center of attention in said classroom of thirty students. Fifteen year old and freshman Josh Rivera let out a shaky sigh as he was then told to take a seat in the second to last row in the back.

He had short black unkempt hair over brown eyes. His clothing consisted of a simple black T-shirt with no design and black jeans along with a pair of black converse. As for accessories, he wore a buckle bracelet on his left arm and a white sweat band on his right. Both were covered with black arm warmers.

He jadedly walked to his seat and plopped into it before listening to the teacher talking about the American Revolution. He pulled out his three-subject notebook reluctantly as he would rather have begun playing Megaman Zero on his DS. However, he knew that the rules about handheld game consoles were the same here and more than likely enforced. As the lesson went on for a couple of minutes, the doors to the classroom swung open, letting a really tired boy that was the same age of him.

The boy's hair was long, dark brown and tied back with letting a few strands over his forehead. He had a bit of facial hair too. He wore a grey T-shirt with some sort of gothic cross design which was underneath a sleeveless hooded jacket, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a pair of dark brown combat boots. His eyes were covered with a pair of aviator sunglasses and there was a black cough mask tied around his neck.

"And you are?" asked the history teacher. Josh lowered his head, feeling a bit embarrassed as he tried to avoid eye contact with the newcomer. It was already hard enough that the people were gossiping about the boy's attire, nearly looking some bum crossed with an emo hippie. He adjusted his aviator glasses, a small shine emitted from the small movement as he replied, "I'm the new transfer student… well, one of the new transfer students."

"_Why is this happening to me?_" Josh mentally whined before his other voice told him. "_It's because you decided to move with your friends to another state in the last month of school. Of course there would be people who would question this, especially the reason this was happening._" As he continued to hear his new classmates gossip a bit and creating rumors, he saw the teacher point to the seat next to him in which the boy happily and stumbled to it. Flopping on to the seat, the aviator-wearing teen smiled to him and said, "Hey, Joshy."

Groaning irritably, he replied, "Morning, Michael…"

Michael Cardona smiled as he then laid back in his chair only a bit since it was attached to the desk. It was obvious what he was going to do. He was going to fall asleep in the classroom. Shaking his head at his friend's carelessness, he went to take notes for him even though he knew that Michael didn't really care at this point about passing this year.

_**Cafeteria  
>12:02 PM PDT<strong>_

After picking up the lunch special of the day, the two boys were able to find their other transfer friends in the far corner of the cafeteria. Fifteen year old Michelle Martinez was waving them over while sixteen year old Lisa Rodriguez was busy eating a ham and cheese sandwich. Both were nearing the end of their sophomore year in high school.

Lisa wore a large dark blue hooded jacket that was unzipped, revealing a simply black tang top, baggy cargo pants, and inch high shoes. Her shoulder-long black hair was combed to her left side, covering half of her face, but it still didn't conceal the obvious bored look that it was having right now. The only notable accessory she had on her is a large ear-muffed headphone that was hanging around her neck with the cord tucked into her pants pocket.

Michelle had a dark purple collared shirt that had its sleeves rolled up to her mid upper arms. She wore tight light blue jeans with black suspenders that hung on her sides and light red converse. Her black hair was a bit curly as it went past her shoulders and draped over them. Her brown eyes were covered with black rimmed, stylized glasses and her cell phone was hanging around her neck by black lanyard.

"Can you believe the crap they sell here?" Michelle said as she showed what she had ordered which was the same, which it seems that the lunch special looked like very sloppy Joes without the buns. "You could have just taken the sandwich," Lisa stated as she took another bite and ignored the glare she got from her friend. Out of mock spite, the Mexican girl slapped at her friend's hand, making her drop the sandwich on to her lap and turned her head away with a pout.

The comical moment disappeared as they saw someone walking towards, specifically towards Michael as the teenager with thin brown hair called to him. "Hey, Michael, you got a minute?" Nodding his head, Michael followed the teenager before they began to talk with each other. With nothing really to do, the three teenagers watched while taking a bite of their food, acting as if the scene was some great drama.

"Look, I'm thankful that Uncle Ron bought the house for us to stay in," Michael said to sixteen year old Sam Witwicky. "But I really can't come over for dinner. I already signed for the night shift at the job I just applied to."

Sam just laughed a bit and said, "Well, I guess that's a good reason to stay away from my mom's questioning about what's happening in your neck of the woods." Both of the cousins laughed together before they shared a brotherly hand shake and hug before parting from each other and returned to their social circles. As he joined his friends, Michael heard Lisa ask, "So, where did you apply at?" He seemed a bit hesitant to answer before muttering quietly, "Chuck E. Cheese…"

There was a rather long awkward pause before Michelle and Josh busted laughing while Lisa nearly choked on her sandwich. Michael pulled up his aviator glasses to cover his shame-filled eyes as he continued to eat his lunch, ignoring the stares and just wanted to get the day done without incident.

_**Chuck E. Cheese  
>6:22 PM PDT<strong>_

"You have got to be kidding me," Michael said as he was dressed in the uniform for the establishment he was currently working at. He stared up at the large tube maze as he heard loud crying coming from inside. Apparently, a kid got lost in there and is too afraid to go looking for a way out. After losing in a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, he took in a deep breath as he proceeded to search the maze of the tubes.

Oddly enough, as he ventured through the maze and climbed to different levels, he didn't come across the rumored stinky diapers or throw-up that he heard so much. However, he wasn't going to take that chance as he focused on finding the boy. As the crying began to grow louder, he soon turned the corner to find the missing child. "Hey there, buddy," Michael gently said to the boy, catching his attention.

He didn't expect the kid to literally scream as if he was dying or the fact that he began to frantically crawl away from him and deeper into the jungle of tubes. He groaned and placed his head on the bottom of the tube he was in before crawling after the boy. It took some strategizing, which was a pain since his laziness was coming on, but he was able to push the scared boy towards the slide.

The boy just gave him a rather frightened look, as if he was the big bad wolf ready to eat little Red Riding Hood. Sighing and knowing that this could probably be the worst thing he would have done at this point, he made a disturbing gurgle as the boy literally screamed louder than before and fell backwards into the slide. Michael quickly reached for the boy, only to fall into the slide himself. The extra weight wasn't able to be sustained as the slide broke and fell to the ground along with its occupants.

_**Home  
>7:41 PM PDT<strong>_

"And that's how I got fired today," Michael finished as he plopped back on the couch of the living room. He just ignored the laughter coming from his friends, seeing Josh and Michelle nearly ready to fall unconscious from laughter while Lisa was just drinking a small cup of tea. Truthfully, everyone had to deal with their own job situations, being that Michelle now works at the Game Stop in the Town Center and Josh working at Hot Topic in the same area. Lisa was left to being a temp, meaning that she would get any part time job she can come across that she would personally like to do.

Technically, she is still unemployed since the interview she went to for working as a waitress didn't go so well due to her small temper.

Letting out a tired breath, Michael stood up and stretched before saying, "Well, I'm turning in for the night."

With that, everyone went to their rooms to sleep off the rest of the day.

_**Qatar  
>US SOCCENT Air Force Base<br>5:43 AM AST**_

Staring off at the sun rise would always give anyone the same feeling that they had when they first saw it. For Vince Price, that was exactly what he was feeling when he stared at the sun rising from behind the sand dunes that surrounded the base he was stationed at. However, he knew that this short feeling of peace wouldn't last long as he heard the early bugle of the trumpet echo through the speakers.

After the morning exercise and the breakfast, everyone went to their stations as he went to the tech bunker. Sitting at his desk, he began to watch the radar for any signs of oncoming aircrafts that would fly into their airspace.

"Looks like the squad will be back by tomorrow afternoon," he heard his comrade speak in boredom. Vince let out a small laugh before averting his attention to the screen as he kept watch on any anomalies that would appear and cause problems of confusion.

**XxXxX**

_The following conversation, which will appear at the end of each chapter, is an excerpt from an online chatroom site called **OnRain**. This internet group was created first by Bekuta. It was at first created for the fact of showing off numerous conspiracies to other members and also create debates on which is real or not. Members can only join when given a password by existing members._

**[Bekuta has logged in]**

**LipsX69: Bekuta! Hey! Haven't seen you online for awhile?**  
><strong>LipsX69: ಠ_ಠ where the hell have you been?<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: Sorry. Been busy with work and such…<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: don't really want get into details m(_ _)m<strong>  
><strong>TrO1k: we**  
><strong>TrO1k: if this keeps up, I'll take leadership from you m9(^Д^)<strong>  
><strong>B()A: hey, that's not cool.**  
><strong>B()A: Besides, you would suck at being leader XD**  
><strong>Tr01k: stfu, B()A**  
><strong>Bekuta: guys, no fighting, please ^^'<strong>  
><strong>B()A: but he started it**  
><strong>Tr01k: and I would finish it if I ever knew you in rl<strong>  
><strong>B()A: it's becuz Im ninja like that**  
><strong>YFunk1980: maybe we should get back to what this group was created for<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: yeah, like totally<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: well, has anyone been able to dig up anymore stuff lately?<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: other than the USA being totally jackasses to Iraq, nothing much<strong>  
><strong>B()A: that's so racist, Tr01k**  
><strong>Tr01k: we**  
><strong>Bekuta: well, I actually found something interesting a few days ago during my break<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: by found, I bet you hacked something and downloaded it<strong>

**…**

**Bekuta: I was bored ^^'**

**[CA Ch1b1DR34M91 has logged in]**

**LipsX69: Cali! You're on! ヽ(´3`)/**

**[CA Ch1b1DR34M91 has logged off]**

**LipsX69: 0 ~ 0 she doesn't loves me anymores TT~TT**  
><strong>YFunk1980: maybe if you stop the sexual talk towards her, she would stay on longer when you're around<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: but I loves her too much to contain it<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: LOL anyways, do you guys want to see what I found?<strong>  
><strong>Tro1k: might as well. Got nothing better to do<strong>  
><strong>B()A: oh! I'm interested**  
><strong>YFunk1980: Me too…<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: here's the link<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: [link]<strong>

**…**

**B(/)A: WTF?**  
><strong>Tr01k: what was that? Was that the Mars mission four years ago?<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: ikr?<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: whoa, wait… you hacked into the space place? Dude, you could get arrested for that!<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: don't worry, as long as you guys don't go posting it everywhere, I'll be fine :3<strong>  
><strong>YFunk1980: what was that anyways?<strong>  
><strong>YFunk1980: hold on, imma go rewatch it<strong>

**…**

**B(/)A: but man… that was so weird!**  
><strong>Tr01k: you wouldn't have been able to see half of that, B()A**  
><strong>B()A: sorry if I'm color blind, asshole! Dx**

**[Ladiesman217 has logged in]**

**Tr01k: who are you?**  
><strong>Ladiesman217: hi<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: oh! I love your sn<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: lol tnx<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: nice to meet you Ladiesman217<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: tnx<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesma217: I was told about this place from a friend and basically wanted to check it out<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: what do you guys talk about here anyways?<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: such and such, but mostly about conspiracy theories<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: cool<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: hey I gtg. Have a big day tomorrow<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: Dx aw! don't go, pappas! We didn't even get to learn about each other's sizes<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: ?<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: trust me, don't go asking for it<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: it's not as hot as it sounds<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: x 3 meanie!<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: lol, anyways, it's nice meeting you all<strong>  
><strong>Ladiesman217: I'll ttyl<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: we latez**  
><strong>B()A: laters**  
><strong>LipsX69: bbfn<strong>

**[Ladiesman217 has logged out]**

**Tr01k: I like that guy**  
><strong>Tr01k: brief and straight to the point<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: unlike someone else here .<strong>  
><strong>B()A: yeah! I totally get what you mean**  
><strong>Tr01k: … (slaps own forehead)<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: lol<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: seriously, you two. I keep thinking you know each other in rl<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: if I ever did, I woulda killed him already for the embarrassment that he is<strong>  
><strong>B()A: aw… someone needs a hug :3**  
><strong>YFunk1980: hey, Bekuta! Can I have a copy of that vid? I'mma show YFr0m1980 later when he is online<strong>  
><strong>Bekuta: sure, I'll give you a secure link to it<strong>

**…**

**Bekuta: anyways, gtg**  
><strong>Bekuta: ttyl guys gn<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: night<strong>  
><strong>LipsX69: loves joo<strong>  
><strong>B()A: later**

**[Bekuta has logged out]**

_To Be Continued…_


	2. Passing Days and Personal Hangouts

**Chapter 2: ****Passing Days and Personal Hangouts**

_**May 12**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Tranquility, Nevada<br>Home  
>8:12 AM PDT<strong>_

"**Argh!** Son of a bitch!"

The sudden screaming was all that was needed to knock Josh back into the conscious world and on to the wooden floor of his bedroom. Groaning tiredly, he slowly stood up and began to head for the kitchen on the bottom floor. The cursing and shouts of pain grew louder until he turned the corner to see Michael cooking breakfast, shirtless. He leaned a bit to see what was in the pan, seeing strips of bacon across it, and that satisfied his tired curiosity. He went to go back uPDTairs when he noticed Michelle stuffing a buttered toast in her mouth and opening the door.

He noted that her attire was similar to that of a Goth as the chains were hanging from the arm warmers and her baggy pants. "Where're you going?"

"Where do you think?" she replied back with sarcasm before stating. "I work on weekends, you idiot. That's the price we have to pay for living in this house without some sugar daddy."

"Hell no, I'm not becoming like Ducky," Josh heard Lisa say as she was in the living room, playing Halo 2 on the Xbox 360. As she shot down one of Elites with the sniper rifle, she put it on pause, turned to look at them and said, "Besides, there aren't any good movies out until October for that Saw movie. So we might as well get some money together to watch it along with other things." With that, she returned her attention towards the game as she tossed a plasma grenade on a running Grunt.

Hearing the explosion and high pitched screams from the television, Josh shook his head before realizing something. He then groaned bitterly as he stated, "Damn, I have work today too." He then hesitantly went back uPDTairs to change as he heard Michelle shout, "I got us a ride so you better hurry!"

Lisa just shook her head as she then saved her game, turned off the game system, and went to the center counter of the kitchen. There she saw that, despite the constant shouting and painful screams coming from the shirtless cook, he was able to create a meal that didn't look burnt or deadly. However, she wasn't that hungry as she just took a toast of bread, placed some eggs on it, and ate it in one bite. "I'm leaving," she simply said as she head towards the door, taking her book bag with her.

"Don't talk to strangers," Michelle teased after her, reminding her of her short height and childish appearance.

"Whatever," was her simply reply as she opened the door, adjusting her shoes so that wouldn't fall off. Lisa then grabbed her scooter and made a small running start before riding off.

"Where is she going?"

Michael and Michelle turned to see Josh in his usual attire, walking down the stairs as he hopped a bit to put his shoes on. "She's going to a job interview."

"For what?" Even though he didn't want to sound like it, Josh was extremely confused by this. She mostly spent her off-times playing games, especially testing out any of the DS games that he placed in his R4 to make sure they work. Since Game Stop didn't have an opening anymore, what was she going to do for a job?

_**Gas Station  
>11:08 AM PDT<strong>_

She stood bored behind the counter as she was reading through another magazine about boring celebrities. After reading a paragraph about yet another failed marriage, she heard the door open as she greeted monotone, "Welcome."

Looking up, she saw some blond haired man looking around and staring at the drinks. His eyes were covered by shutter shades, indicating that he could probably be a Kanye West fan. He wore a yellow hood sweater with black lines on the hem of the sleeves and the zipper, and wore a black T-shirt underneath. His black cargo pants had rips on the knees and a pair of black DC shoes. She noticed that large headphones on his ears as loud rap music was playing. Deciding to ignore him until he was ready for his purchase, she placed the magazine she was reading back on the rack and decided to just stare outside of the doors. There she saw that there were a couple of people pumping gas into their cars, most of them looking rather expensive and sleek.

The only car that stood out was a 1976 yellow Camaro with racing stripes. It looked like it has gone into so many battles since its creation year and she was surprised that the car wasn't rusted out already. Realizing her train of thought, she unconsciously banged her head on the table. Damn her brothers and their strange fascination of cars. Why did she live with a weird family like that?

The sound of tapping metal caught her attention as she looked up to see the blond man looking down at her with concern. Quickly standing up straight, she noticed that he was probably 5'10". Looking at what he had placed on the counter, she was what looked like some sort of hood ornament. It was a flat picture of a bumblebee with the word "BEE-OTCH" underneath it. Scanning it, she told him, "Okay, that'll be $3.75."

The man began to look through his pockets and then suddenly pulled out a crumpled wad of bills. Taking it, she nearly dropped it once she saw one too many hundreds in the ball. Wondering if the guy was joking, she asked cautiously, "Um… you do know that I only need like four one-dollar bills, right?" The man just stared at her in confusion before she sighed. She then looked through the bills until she was able to find the correct amount that he needed to purchase. Taking out the quarter for change, she handed it to him and his wad of money before saying, "Thank you."

The man then smiled and held out his hand. Recognizing the gesture, Lisa cautiously took it in her own and the two shook hands before he went off towards the beat-up Camaro. She watched as he got in the vehicle and the windows rolled up, revealing them to be black-tinted ones. The car then drove off out to the busy streets of Tranquility. As she kept looking on, she then shrugged as she then searched through the magazine rack, trying to find something that wasn't going to discuss about the current diets of the Disney stars.

_**Pizza Parlor  
>1:39 PM PDT<strong>_

"Sir, I have a complaint."

The owner let out a tired sigh as this was probably the fifth customer who has returned with their pizza box and a unsatisfied face. Michael leaned back a bit to look through the doors that let out to the main area of the pizza parlor. There, he saw a mother looking quite displeased as she said, "This is an outrage! I cannot believe you would make this kind of pizza in a public place!"

It was quite obvious that the woman didn't like the new creation that Michael had created out of sheer boredom just hours ago. It turned out to be a really great pizza so he thought that he could share it with everyone.

However, it seems not everyone was really willing to try out a pizza that is covered with marijuana and named after a deceased singer who used the drug frequently. As he took another slice from the pizza that was left behind by the previous customer, he saw his boss give back a refund to the person and stalked towards him. "Kid, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Uh… I'm making pizzas," he replied back in a questioning tone. His boss shook his head as he then pulled out the bag of marijuana that was hidden by the apron he was wearing. "Why do you even have this? How did you get this?"

"Dude, chill," Michael spoke casually, though he seemed to be a little out of it.

"How can I chill when you have been carrying something illegally in my shop?" his boss began to shout at him and Michael had to get ready for the inevitable.

_**Town Center  
>2:07 PM PDT<strong>_

Taking another drag of his smoke, he began to walk back home with an obvious frustrated expression. He didn't realize that his short wondering had brought him in front of Hot Topic as he entered, getting the happy smile from one of the female workers. Returning the smile and going back to frowning behind his aviator glasses, he easily found Josh as he was helping some girls get a Lolita dress that was in the upper parts of the store.

His friend was dressed in the attire fitting the theme of the store as his normal attire had more chains added to it. After getting the dress for the girls, they giggled and hurried to the dressing room. Josh let out an irritated sigh before turning to see and recognize Michael. "Oh, what's up?" Josh simply said as he went to go stand at the entrance. Michael joined him as Josh stated, "Smells like you got fired… again."

"Smell?"

Josh pinched his nose as he said, "You smell like smoke and I think you should head home before you get me fired to for association, idiot." Michael gave him a small pout, in which Josh didn't seem to be affected by it. It took a couple of minutes, with small interruptions of welcoming people who entered the store, before he finally caved in and said, "Just don't steal anything, okay? I don't have that much money right now." The boy jumped for joy before running back into the store like a child in a candy shop. Shaking his head at this, he looked forward to see Michelle walking towards them, dressed in the Game Stop uniform. Greeting each other by high fiving, Michelle said, "You on break?"

The minute he shook his head, she just walked away and left him alone.

_**Home  
>7:11 PM PDT<strong>_

**Note: No, really… I use the clock that I use as reference for time and it said that time.**

The door of their home continuously rung as Lisa shouted out, "I'll get it!" Jumping up from her seat of the couch, she went to the door and immediately opened it without checking. Looking at the one who was interrupting their night of movies, she saw a familiar face as she said his name in question, "Alvaro? What are you doing here?" Her friends were suddenly behind her as Michelle forced the door to fully open.

Standing in the doorway was their freshman high school friend, fifteen year old Alvaro Melchor, with luggage laid against his feet. He had short black hair, brown eyes and tan skin, much like most of the teenagers minus Michelle and Michael. He wore a white buttoned, collared T-shirt with a tie around his neck, blue jeans, and black Converse.

The boy gave out a nervous laugh as he said, "Well, I asked my parents if I could move out with you guys since you are in Nevada and it seems like fun."

Everyone just stared at him, feeling that there was an alternate motive for coming this far from their hometown. However, all the interrogating was easily forgotten as Alvaro simply picked up one of the suitcase and opened it towards them. It was hard to guess the exact amount, but the teenagers just gaped at the stacks of money that were neatly placed in the case. Michelle slowly reached for it and took it in her hands, as if she was handling a newborn baby. Michael looked like he was drooling badly at the sight of money while Lisa and Josh turned their attention back to Alvaro and asked, "Where'd you get all that money?"

"Inheritance," Alvaro answered a little too fast before grabbing the other bags and briefcases to carry into the house. "So, where's my room?"

_**Tranquility High School  
>10:47 PM PDT<strong>_

Josh was watching a Doctor Who episode on the laptop that Alvaro bought for him with his inheritance money. His headphones easily muffled out the rest of the world as he would have to make sure to watch the time. He didn't want to be late to class or have the librarian ban him for loitering. Although he and his friends would have rather stayed together in one place and chat about random things, each of them obviously wanted times to be alone.

Michael was making friends with people in the gym, mostly by inflicting self harm in a comedy way. This made him friends with some of the jocks and that's where he met up with people who also had the same habits as he does.

Lisa would spend her time in the computer lab, typing notes on her fan fictions and surfing the net. He and everyone else wished that she would at least go outside of that room and hang out with one of them, but she insists that she rarely has time to use the computer alone.

Michelle was nearby, looking through the manga section of the library or finding funny facts in the psychology books. He knew that she would like to read manga as much as she can, but he wasn't sure what was hilarious in the psychology books.

Alvaro had decided to make friends here at the school, easily doing so with the band students. It was a big surprise since he was in the band back in their hometown, but what instrument he played, he never figured out.

He saw movement before him as he looked up from his laptop to see Sam heading towards the small group of computers that were placed in the library for searching the locations of books. Seeing that the librarian was gone, Josh whispered still, "Hey, Sam. What are you doing?" The older teenager looked up and saw who was asking him the question. The brown haired sophomore said, "Looking up information on the expedition that my ancestor went on a loud of years ago." Josh stared at him while Sam stared back for a long time before the younger teen went back to watching the Doctor Who episode. He saw Sam lower his head in shame and walk away. It finally hit him that the guy was trying to get him to help him, but he wasn't able to call him back as Sam left the library and into the slightly empty halls of the schools.

"You know what?" he heard Michelle say behind him as she held the third volume of the Hellsing manga in her arms. "That totally made you look like a douche right now." She then went back to her spot in the library before leaving a slightly put-off Josh who just semi-glared at her. He then just stared at the paused scene of the actor Simon Pegg playing as a bad guy.

_**Qatar  
>US SOCCENT Air Force Base<br>8:53 PM AST**_

"Is my wife on?"

Vince looked up as he was fixing up the many servers they had. He saw Lennox and smiled as he rerouted the webcam chat to the computer in the middle computer, nodding his head and said, "Give me greetings to Sarah, Will." The man nodded as he then looked towards the sturdy laptop before him, tapping the screen before greeting the faces that appeared in the video cam. Seeing the joyful face on the man, Vince smiled softly before going back to fixing the server.

As he continued rerouting a few servers while fixing up some messages, he notices that everything on the computer was starting to glitch. He had lost just about two hours of work, but he didn't have time to shout out in anger when he saw that the problem wasn't only affecting him. Looking up, he saw Will hitting the computer as he called out to his wife, saying that he will contact them soon before he stepped back with a frustrated face. Turning to look at his comrade who was also on the computer, they didn't have time to converse when there was a sudden explosion outside. Following Will, Vince saw the base was being attacked by some rather large machine as it continued to shoot at anything and everything that moved. It suddenly emitted out a shockwave which took nearly everything that was in the airfield that it was at.

He was pulled away with Will as he quickly followed him. He lost sight of the other man, but there was no time as he joined Lennox's team. All of them were suited up with the gear and running. Looking over his shoulder back at the carnage being done to their base, he saw the machine go towards the tech as he ran towards there as fast as he could, ignoring Lennox's desperate calls to come back. He soon reached the bunker with all the computers.

"Cut the hardlines!" shouted Colonel Sharp as another was trying do as ordered. Shouting about it being locked, Vince glanced around until he found an axe. Quickly heading towards the main fuse box, he began hacking the large wires that emitted from it. Sparks began to fly as he continuously hacked on the wires until all power was gone. This angered the machine deeply as he stepped back and seemed ready to fire at the occupants of the bunker. Colonel Sharp grabbed him and tossed out of the bunker before the barrages of bullets were sprayed throughout the building. He was suddenly pulled back and away from the building as he turned to see Robert Epps helping him run away. "What the hell are you doing just standing? We gotta move!"

As he followed the man, Vince looked over his shoulder again and was slightly shocked that the machine was going after them. It nearly stepped on them as they fell back, making both crawl backwards while staring at the machine. Quickly picking up the man, they headed towards the still standing tanks where Lennox and the others were waiting. He then noticed that a young boy was in their ranks, making him remember that the kid would always come by and hang out with Lennox. Someone next to him, Fig, took out a Ramo RT-37 and fired a shot towards the machine, seeing it impact and blinding the monster to give them time to run and get away.

**XxXxX**

**[****Z3R0Rid3r has logged in****]**

**Z3R0Rid3r: hey  
>R1an: Zero! :3<br>ChuXian: didya see what Bekuta posted last week?  
>Z3R0Rid3r: no, been busy<br>R3za: eh? Why is everyone busy these days?  
>R3za: you guys are no fun ~<br>CA Ch1b1DR34M91: well, not all of us have no lives like ChuXian**  
><strong>CA Ch1b1DR34M91: I mean, you've been online since you joined<strong>  
><strong>ChuXian: because I'm awesome like that<strong>  
><strong>ChuXian: That and I'm logged in through my cell phone<strong>  
><strong>Z3R0Rid3r: really? Must be using an Iphone<strong>  
><strong>CA Ch1b1DR34M91: lol you mean an Ithingy?<strong>  
><strong>YFr0m1980: can we go back to Bekuta's post?<strong>  
><strong>R1an: someone is really interested in that vid<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: you would too if you saw what was on that<strong>  
><strong>R1an: no thanks<strong>  
><strong>R1an: gtg<strong>  
><strong>Z3R0Rid3r: kk, laters<strong>

**[R1an has logged out]**

**ChuXian: man, she is more busy then Bekuta**

**[Bekuta has logged in]**

**ChuXian: speak of the devil**  
><strong>YFr0m1980: wassup admin<strong>

**…**

**Bekuta: Im guessing everyone has seen the vid?**  
><strong>Z3R0Rid3r: Imma about to watch it right now<strong>  
><strong>Z3R0Rid3r: slow connection<strong>

**…**

**Z3R0Rid3r: what the hell did I just watch?**  
><strong>YFr0m1980: ikr? Totally rocked my socks off<strong>  
><strong>Z3R0Rid3r: it's probably a trailer vid of some movie coming up<strong>  
><strong>R3za: and here we go with the skepticism<strong>  
><strong>Z3R0Rid3r: what? I'm just saying<strong>

**[Bekuta has logged out]**

**YFr0m1980: wtf? Why'd he log off?**  
><strong>R3za: probably had something important to do<strong>  
><strong>YFr0m1980: he usually says goodbye or something<strong>  
><strong>R3za: like I said, probably busy<strong>  
><strong>R3za: we all have lives outside of this… well, most of us<strong>  
><strong>ChuXian: god… why is everyone bagging on me on this?<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: because it's so easy to mess with you<strong>  
><strong>Tr01k: that and you've been online since joining us<strong>  
><strong>R3za: aw, looky there<strong>  
><strong>R3za: Tr01k is being all mushy and togetherly<strong>  
><strong>R3za: gaw! So gay!<strong>  
><strong>R3za: watch out, ChuXian! （（（ ﾟДﾟ）he's gonna stalk you!<br>Tr01k: weirdo  
>Z3R0Rid3r: can we get back on to the fake video?<br>YFr0m1980: IT'S NOT FAKE! WHY DO YOU INSIST THAT?  
>YFr0m1980: you're worse than my co-sign <strong>**ʘ ~ ʘ  
>Z3R0Rid3r: I'm sorry… okay?<br>ChuXian: seriously guys, you really need to relax  
>Tr01k: we  
>Z3R0Rid3r: well, I'll try to get a friend of mine to look at the vid<br>Z3R0Rid3r: see if it's just something they were gonna use for some movie  
>R3za: I guess that means you're logging off?<br>Z3R0Rid3r: yep, ttyl  
><strong>R3za: bb**  
>Tr01k: bye<br>ChuXian: laters, zero**

**[Z3R0Rid3r has logged out]**

_To Be Continued…_


	3. Clown Cousin and No Need to Go Back

**Note to self: Never play "Iridescent" while typing all the time… It will make you tear up…**

**Chapter 3: ****Clown Cousin and No Need to Go Back**

_**May 24**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Tranquility, Nevada<br>Tranquility High School  
>2:34 PM PDT<strong>_

"So, you basically want me to think of a number between one and fifty," Lisa said as the student in front was gathering her project items in order to give room to Sam Witwicky. "And you are supposed to guess it right?"

Michelle nodded her head enthusiastically, adjusting her glasses since they nearly fell off. Lisa sighed, her head already filled with pain and fatigue as she said, "Alright, but I really doubt that you could even guess-"

"**28!**"

Everyone turned to look at her as she seemed to have a look of triumph in her expression. Slowly sitting back down, Michelle made a quiet victory sound as Lisa just stared at her with complete shock. She decided to listen to this next presentation the best that she could since it was the last one for the day, giving her a look on what is acceptable and qualified for a presentation to their Chemistry teacher. As Sam made sure that everything was seen, he stood up and was ready to speak when Lisa noticed the blonde boy sitting in front of him pulling back a rubber band with a paperclip. She wasn't able to stop him in time as Trent DeMarco released the stretchy band to let the unbended thin metal fly through the hair and hit Sam in the jugular. It was just a small hit as Sam stopped in mid-sentence and the teacher quickly stood up to search for the culprit.

As Trent pretended to be curious on who did it, Lisa took the liberty to hook her right foot on one of his back legs of his chair as she then pulled it back abruptly, causing him to stagger a bit before turning his back to look at Lisa with a glare. Copying the move that George Lopez always did with the nod, she returned the glare while whispering, "Whachya gonna do, _gaki_?" He glared as he then returned to look at the front. Lisa noticed that the black haired girl that was sitting next to him was still staring back at her with an amused smile. As she went to focus on Sam's presentation, Michelle leaned towards Lisa and said, "You so owe me twenty bucks now."

"What? Why?" Lisa inquired quietly as their teacher seemed to be glancing in their direction. Michelle made a shrug before focusing on the presentation. At this rate, Lisa knew that she wasn't going to listen at all. As Sam began to talk about the items, she then remembered the conversation she had earlier with the boy about the objects.

_**7:25 AM PDT**_

_Lisa had just closed her locker as she took out her book that was needed for the next three classes including the notebooks. Thankfully, her laid back attitude let her only need to carry one small notebook and the textbook of the second period. A small pain in her head began to grow, showing that her fatigue and abrupt awakening was still taking effect. It didn't help that someone was calling her name rather too enthusiastically. Sighing, she turned just in time to come face to face with Sam Witwicky as he was sweating rather badly. "You do know you don't have to keep running everywhere, Sam," she stated while suppressing yawn._

"_Hey, I got a great offer for you," he said as he rummaged through his bag, muttering to himself as Lisa was just being half asleep while trying to think of something that will help with her headache. She was then brought back to reality when she saw a pair of damaged glasses shoved into her face. She nearly stumbled backwards as she just stared at what was in his hand. "Here! This is what I was talking about yesterday," he said enthusiastically while Lisa cautiously took the glasses from his hands. They were old-fashion spectacles as they had a crack in both lenses, but she also noted odd dashes on them too. They weren't like any scratches she had seen before as she then handed them back to Sam, saying, "Those cracks can really affect the value of the item, especially when you are trying to sell it off."_

_Seeing the small disappointed look in her fellow classmate's eyes, she then said, "If you give me a good price, I might think about buying them tomorrow or something." Those workds immediately made the boy perk up as he did a small victory pump before heading off to class as the warning bell had just rung. Giving their goodbyes for the day, they went their separate ways to start their school days._

She was brought back to the present as she heard the bell that signaled the end of the day. Thanking the Gaming God for letting her stroll down Memory Lane, she picked up her bag only to be hit on the side of her head by Trent's who accidentally got in her way. Making the fake apology, he, his friends and his girlfriend, began to head out of the classroom. Michelle stood with her friend as she glared after the blonde and said, "That guy needs to get laid… by another guy."

Lisa slowly turned to look at her friend before heading out, knowing that Sam was busy trying convince the teacher to give him an A for his report and won't have time to discuss about the glasses. She personally didn't care at this point. She just wanted to get at least another hour or two of sleep.

_**Bolivia's Auto Shop  
>3:36 PM PDT<strong>_

"Do I really have to wear this?" Michael begged for the fifth time. His cousin, Manny, sighed irritably as he finished the make-up and said, "You backing out now? _Pensé que quería__este trabajo__, primo._"

"I know, but I thought I was just archiving cars like I did this morning," Michael stated. He then turned to the mirror as he said, "Not dressing as…"

He didn't finish his statement as he froze in fear of what he was dressed as. The polka-dotted, star patterned suit he was wearing was quite colorful. Sadly, he was only able to see two to three of the colors on it. The frilly collar slighted itch his neck, but it didn't make his fear go away. To top that off along with the makeup and honky nose, he wore a yellow afro that had a clown hat attached to it. The arrow sign laid nearby, arrayed with a small phrase that were eye-catching like "Best Wheel Deals!" along with the name Bobby B's on the arrow tip.

Manny then pushed him to the sidewalk; Manny thanked him for archiving all the cars this morning before heading to school. This obviously made it easier for his boss to know what the best ones to sell were and to who they should be sold to. He then told him to just make sure that drivers and pedestrians could see the sign and twirl it once in a while. Sighing, he began to do just that, but it became very irritating after just fifteen minutes. He then saw a rather expensive looking car collar in shiny black. It took most of his will to not drop the sign and walk over to the shiny car. He also noticed a rather battered up yellow Camaro with racing stripes do a U-turn in the same way as the shiny car. However, it still wasn't enough to make him ignore the shiny car.

It helped a bit when he heard Manny's boss, Bobby Bolivia, shout, "**Manny!**"

"What?"

"Get your cousin outta that damn clown suit. Look like he having a heat stroke, scarin' white folk!" he heard the boss state. Feeling a bit whiny and still a little high, he shouted, "**I'm hot! Make-up's melting! Hurts my **_**eyes**_**!**" He heard Manny starting to curse as he went over to him and spoke irritably, "Let's go."

"Dude, I can do this," Michael slightly begged. "_Sólo estaba bromeando__antes.__"_

"Well," Manny started speaking while taking off the handkerchief that was around his neck, starting to whack Michael with it. "Your joking is going to get me fired." He proceeded to hit him with the cloth, making them pass behind two possible customers of the dealership before Manny dragged him over to the auto shop.

"My boss is already having a meltdown," Manny stated as he started to work on the undercarriage of a Toyota. Michael then just sat with his cousin as he just handed the tools he said for him to give. It was only a couple minutes later when they heard Bobby calling Manny's name. Irritated, he threw the wrench that was in his hand as he walked out of the building and into the sun, shouting, "**What?**"

"What is this?" he heard the boss shout. Michael went to peek over the cars, seeing that Bobby was referring to the yellow Camaro that he had just seen almost twenty minutes ago. "This car, check it out!"

Glancing at it for just a second, Manny shouted, "I don't know, boss. I never seen that. That's _loco_!"

"Don't go _Ricky Ricardo _on me, Manny. Get your damn clown cousin to look up the list he made this morning," the boss ordered. Manny then stalked towards him as he demanded, "Where's the list?" Heading towards the old cabinets, Michael began to search for them while hearing Manny curse rather long in Spanish. Once he pulled it out, he searched through the list and showed him that it wasn't on the list.

"Aye, _puto_!" Manny shouted as he said, "Why'd you miss that one, Michael?"

"How could I miss something that just drove in here?" Michael spat back before hearing something cluttering with a car beep. The two headed outside as they saw Bobby crawling out of the passenger side of old Beetle, speaking to the two customers in a reassuring tone before calling to them in the same way, "Hey, Manny! Get your clown cousin and get's some hammers and bang this stuff out, baby."

The two just looked at each other before heading inside, reaching for the hammers. However, they both froze as a loud screeching sound echoed through the area, causing nearly everything glass to break. They covered their heads as they were showered with glass. Luckily they weren't hurt as they glanced at each other and quickly headed outside. There, they saw every car had their glass windows shattered into showering bits and pieces… well, all except one. The Camaro was parked, untouched by the destruction except for its already faded paint and scorch marks. Sensing the inevitable, Manny looked at his cousin and said, "Sorry, bro. You gonna have to look for a new job…"

Michael let out an exasperated sigh as he heard Bolivia shout at him, "Manny, tell your clown cousin he's fired! Look at the destruction he brought to my… my…" The rest of what he was going to say was stopped by him wailing in despair. As they watched African Man wail in sadness, Michael then asked his cousin, "Can I have at least fifty bucks for my trouble?" He then pulled off the cheesiest smile that a man should ever give, and Manny gave him, giving him a bill of 50 before pushing him off and heading back to the shop, looking for a broom.

As he walked off in his grey sweater hoodie, black shirt, and battered black jeans, he saw that the customers were Sam and his father as the teenager was getting into the yellow Camaro. He saw them drive off, giving the wave of hello as Sam headed off down the road and towards home.

_**May 25**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Somewhere in Qatar<br>2:07 AM ADT**_

"Can you believe this shit?" he heard Epps say to him as Vince turned to look at his comrade joining to sit with him. Epps handed him the binoculars that he used to take a picture of the machine that attacked their base. Reminding him of the devastation done to their base, Vince wondered if they were the only survivors of the assault. Staring into the lens, he saw the picture of the machine a bit more clearly and less fear-blinding. He then noted that the optics of the machine were bright red, those similar to those of cars when they go on to a full stop or even a red light in an intersection. He also noted that the machine was made up of parts of a Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low heavy-lift helicopter; the parts of the flying vehicle were placed almost perfectly on the machine's body in order to allow mobility in the form it attacked them.

"It's like something from Sci-Fi," Vince commented as he handed the binoculars back. Epps laughed a bit as he said, "It looks like it even has a force field around it."

"Once again," Vince chuckled out. "Something from Sci-Fi."

"Or comic books, that's what Donnelly said," Epps stated as the two continued to stare out at the calm night. There was a long pause before Vince asked, "How much farther is it before we reach Mahfouz's village?"

Sighing, Epps kept on looking out at the distance as he said, "From what he said, we might be able to get there in a day or two. As long as we just continue the way we go, we will get there and get this shit to the Pentagon." Nodding in agreement, he exchanged a good night handshake before heading off to sleep before it was his turn to keep watch. Vince sighed as he laid back on the rock that was his support, making sure not to fall asleep.

All he knew now was that they had to keep two things safe: the binoculars _and_ the kid.

_**May 24**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Washington DC<br>Pentagon  
>7:11 PM EDT<strong>_

Using the webcam of the laptop he was installed in by his programmer, the security program known as EMERGE watched as twenty-one year old Tracy Flynn looked very eager to be sitting in the Pentagon.

She was dressed rather childish looking, her dark blonde hair put up in a messy ponytail. Her clothing consisted of a black colored shirt with the cuffs on the short sleeves in which was overlapping a long-sleeved white shirt with a small frill at the hems of the shirt. Her skirt was black and red plaid and her black leggings were tucked in army boots. He saw her adjusted her large brown-rimmed glasses that didn't really cover her eyes.

**Note: Tracy Flynn has no relations to Kevin Flynn from TRON. In this world, TRON is considered a fiction movie as it is in our world.**

"This had better be worth on what we were being pulled from," EMERGE stated through Tracy's headphones, making sure that only she could hear the voice. Making a small laugh, EMERGE waited for a typed reply as it said:

_One can only hope that you downloading the Harry Potter series and finish reading them even before the seventh book comes out is not that bad of a thing._

EMERGE rolled his eyes as he said, "But I need to know! It's like a revelation to all the questions I've had. I've never been this confused since the time you first created me." Seeing his creator laugh a bit, she suddenly went serious and silent as she moved her face from the installed webcam of the laptop. Out of great curiosity, he turned on the microphone so that he could hear the Secretary of Defense speak.

"I'm John Keller," said an elderly voice that seemed to hold some hidden power. EMERGE smirked at this as he knew all political figures would need to have this kind of aura from him. "Obviously you're all wondering why you're here, so these are the facts: At 17:00 hours GMT yesterday a SOCCENT airbase in Qatar was attacked. So far as we know, there were no survivors." He saw the sad look on his creator's face; obviously she was giving her wishes towards the people who were killed at Qatar. He heard the Sec Def continue.

"The purpose of the attack was to hack our military network; we don't know what they were looking for, but they were cut off during the assault, which leads us to assume they're going to try it again. Now, no one's taken responsibility for the attack. And the only lead we have is this sound..."

Upon hearing the playing of the recording, EMERGE nearly had to cover his own virtual ears so that they wouldn't derezz. It sounded so… inhuman to him as he had heard every kind of music and sound effects from nearly every movie, show, and video game ever made. What else was he supposed to do when Tracy was out when she had to report to her parole officer? He was jolted back to the present as he heard through the reverse speakers of the laptop, hearing John Keller's voice echo through the system.

"That's the signal that hacked our network. NASA's working around the clock to break it but we need **your** help in deciphering this signal. You've all shown technical skill in the field of signal analysis… We're on a hair trigger, people. The United States has dispatched an armed force to its full capacity. This is as real as it's going to get. I'm going to leave you to the officer to sort you all into groups… Good luck to us all."

With that, he saw through the laptop that Tracy picked it up and carried it off in order to be assigned to a group. Turning off the speakers, he noticed that his creator was talking a rather cute blonde woman who was dressed rather pretty. However, the time to act curious was over as he went to pull up every firewall that he and Tracy created along with some from popular virus protection sites. From the sound of the signal, he wasn't going to take any chances with something to corrupt with the only place he can really exist without a fight.

_**Tranquility, Nevada  
>Home<br>4:42 PM PDT**_

"Mom, I'm sorry," Josh said into his cell phone.

He noticed Michael passing on taking his fifth slice of pizza he made for himself, seeing the sprinkled marijuana mixed with cheese and some sausage. Lisa seemed to pause for a bit from typing on her laptop. She was working on her report that was similar to Sam's geneology report, only she didn't pick to work on her family history. Michelle was just staring off at the people who were walking by their house, either talking about recent events or jogging to stay in shape. Alvaro was basically just knocked out and sleeping on the chair that was placed on the porch.

He then continued on his phone call.

"I know you are worried, but it's all right. I've been getting used to the school and the scenery. It's actually a really nice place, I feel a little more… peaceful here… yes, Mom, I'm sure that this is just vacation and nothing bad is going to happen… Yes, bye mom… I… uh… I love you too."

With that quickly said, he quickly closed the phone while seeing the knowing smirks from his friends. Shaking his head at Michelle and Michael who were messing with him, he heard Lisa ask, "You sure that you are gonna stay here for the summer?"

Turning to look at his friends, he said, "I speak for all of us that we are here because we want to make sure that you and Michael can at least find a bit of peace, just until your families can get over the bullshit they pulled."

Nodding her head in agreement, Michelle said, "Yeah! Why don't we do something since we really don't have to be back anytime really early tonight?" Everyone laughed before Lisa said, "We have school tomorrow, remember?" Everyone groaned, though Alvaro was still asleep. Rolling her eyes, she then saved all her documents before going online to find the times of the movies that were on for the day. Then, a realization hit her head.

"Hey," she spoke aloud, getting the others attention. "You guys know about the burn book that has been going around the school for awhile?"

"There's a burn book?" Michelle said, her interest peaked as she pushed everyone out of the way to get in Lisa's face. Ignoring the uncomfortable look on her friend's face, she began to interrogate her, "There's a **burn book** at this school? Did you get to look through it? Did you write in it? Am I in it? Am I? Am I? **Am I?**" There was a long silence as the only thing that could be heard was Alvaro's small snort before going back to a quiet sleep. Lisa then shook her head, quietly saying that she wasn't in the book. Michelle suddenly pulled a very pissed off face before running over to their neighbor's house.

Sam was washing his new ride, getting rid of some dirt that was there but it still had some dings and scratches on its paint. He didn't notice Michelle towards him until he turned to see her in his face as she shouted, "**Sam, there's a **_**burn book**_** at our school!**" Noticing the rather displeased look on her face, he then asked, "Um… are you saying this because someone wrote you in it?"

"That's the thing!" she shouted. "**No** **one** did! No one **wrote** _**shit**_ about **me** in there!" She screamed to the skies above as she then muttered, "Those muggle bitches…"

"_Turn to page three hundred and ninety four_," they both heard come from the car as they turned slowly to look at the banged up Camaro. She then pointed at her car and asked, "Did your car just quote Snape from _Harry Potter_?" When Sam just slowly nodded his head, Michelle was about to freak out before saying, "By the way, we are gonna be asking for a ride to the theater. We're watching the third Pirates movie." As she proceeded to scream out that Severus Snape was real, she ignored the shocked look at Sam's face before he realized what she said.

**XxXxX**

**[****Kamuix1991 has logged in****]**

**Kamuix1991: Hey! Anyone on?  
><strong>**DaV33m0n: hi  
>R3V3R: hey! Kamui! Look who joined us<br>Kamuix1991: yeah, hi  
>Kamuix1991: anyone seen the news?<br>M1k3yMcMuffin: geez rude much, kamui  
>Kamuix1991: did anyone see the news about Qatar?<br>N0nM0n485: it's all over the news, kamui. It's just another terrorist attack  
>N0nM0n485: why? You seem to be taking a great deal in this<strong>

…

**Kamuix1991: I have a friend who was stationed there  
>M1k3yMcMuffin: oh…<br>R3V3R: dang  
>N0nM0n485: sorry about what I said<br>DaV33m0n: did you get any contact from him?  
>Kamuix1991: I wouldn't be this worried if I did<br>Kamuix1991: sorry, i'm just worried**

**[****All3n_N1nj4 has logged in****]**

**All3n_N1nj4: what up!  
>M1k3yMcMuffin: hiyas<br>All3n_N1nj4: …okay, I sense a disturbance in the force  
>R3V3R: you saw the news, right?<br>All3n_N1nj4: uh… I don't watch the news**

…

**M1k3yMcMuffin: I vote we kick him out.  
>All3n_N1nj4: hey! Dx<br>R3V3R: I second that motion  
>All3n_N1nj4: come on, guys! Sorry if I don't watch the news all the time<br>N0nM0n485: then just look it up  
>All3n_N1j4: and I shall do just that<strong>

**[****All3n_N1nj4 has logged out****]**

**M1k3yMcMuffin: LOL  
>M1k3yMcMuffin: did he just log out?<br>R3V3R: OMG who invited this guy?  
>N0nM0n485: I think it was Rider or Boa<br>R3V3R: man, that would piss off Troik badly XD  
>Kamuix1991: hey, guys. I'mma go<br>Kamuix1991: and I won't be on for awhile. Gonna be moving to another area  
>M1k3yMcMuffin: okay<br>M1k3yMcMuffin: wait, what?  
>M1k3yMcMuffin: no! don't go Dx<br>R3V3R: well, hope you have a safe trip  
>N0nM0n485: later kamui<strong>

**[****Kamuix1991 has logged out****]**

_To Be Continued…_


	4. Jobless Again and Arrested

**A/N: Sergeant Donnelly lives in this story. There's a reason… besides the fact that I like his actor xD Also, it has been a long time since I've worked on this story but luckily I had a few chapters done before I got writer's block. That and with the fourth installment of the series coming out (Heaven forbid that it will actually be anything good =A=) I have the urge to write this series again. Just note that the chapters won't come out like the speed of sound. I still need to brush up on what I exactly want to do.**

**Chapter 4: ****Jobless Again and Arrested**

_**May 26**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Tranquility, Nevada<br>Home  
>11:56 PM PDT<strong>_

The television in the living room was on Cartoon Network as it played Family Guy on Adult Swim. However, Josh wasn't paying attention to what episode it was as he was playing through his DS, playing _Children of Mana_ as he continuously slashed through the levels while skimming through the conversations of the characters. Alvaro was fast asleep on the lounge couch as he was snoring badly, slightly annoying Josh but he was used to it. Feeling fatigue growing on him, he suppressed a loud yawn as he went to turn off the tv and was about to hit the lights when he heard the sound of an old engine coming to life. Looking to the window that faced the front yard, he was able to see Sam's new car pulling out of the driveway and driving off.

"Going for a joy ride this late?" he muttered as he added, "I guess even some guy like him can be a bad boy once he gets a car."

"**Dad, call the cops!**"

Hearing that voice, Josh immediately knew that something bad had occurred. Hurrying to the front, he saw Sam trying to get a running start before jumping on his bike. "Sam, did you just get your car jacked?" he asked before he got a desperate glare from the older teenager. Sam then stated, "**Can't talk! Car being **_**stolen**_**! I'll see you later!**" With that said, Josh watched Sam pedal after the Camaro. Shaking his head at this, he was about to head back inside when he felt a nagging feeling in the back of his head. Glancing back to the retreating form of his schoolmate and the front door, he let out an exasperated sigh before going inside and pulling the blanket cover that Alvaro was sleeping on.

The boy let out a yelp before falling flat on the ground. Glancing around frantically, he then looked up to see Josh with a rather pissed off face as his friend said, "Come on! We gotta help Sam with his car." Heading towards the front door, he grabbed his sweater and Alvaro's jacket as he threw the latter's at him before heading out the door. It took awhile for Alvaro to put on his jacket in his sleep before realizing what his friend had just said.

"Wait… what? Why are we helping Sam with his car? Did it break down or something?"

_**May 27**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Junkyard<br>12:09 AM PDT**_

After giving the Boxer and German Shepard the large meat bones, Michael resumed his "careful" watch of the security cams of the factory. His employer, who was a security guard of the place, had went to get a midnight snack at the nearby donut shop and left him in charge, which wasn't so hard as he was told that no one would come near here because of the dogs alone. Michael reached for another slice from the Bob Marley pizza he had brought with him, taking another large bite of it and savoring the drugging flavor.

As he continued to eat, he then noticed the screens starting to fizz out before becoming static. Banging the top of them, nothing changed back to its original broadcast as Michael muttered, "Fucking old shit equipment… can't work right…" He then leaned back in the chair, pulling a large mushroom off the slice and gulped it down. As he just relaxed and watch the fizz on the monitor, he heard loud barking outside, indicating that the dogs were trying to scare off someone. He was about to completely ignore it if it wasn't for the fact that he heard the sound of chains breaking and paws running away.

Michael quickly stood from the seat and ran out of the small shed, seeing the dogs run after three figures that were sprinting away from them. He was about to run after the dogs when he heard honking. Turning to look behind him, he quickly jumped out of the way before he nearly got ran over by a yellow Camaro… the yellow Camaro from yesterday. He felt anger boil up inside him as he then ran back inside, calling his employer.

"Charlie, are you there?"

"_Uh… Michael? What the hell? I keep telling you, the name is __**Marvin**__. Why are you calling? I'm on my way back with a buddy of mine from the station._"

"Your dogs are chasing after some guy and his friends!"

"_What?! Then why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be running after them?!_"

Realizing what this meant, he left the shed very quickly, heading to search for the dogs. However, he saw them run past him and out of the broken gates, hearing them whining and whimpering in fear. As he watched them run, he was suddenly tackled down by someone as they were sprawled on the pebble floor. Shaking his head to clear it, he soon saw the familiar faces of Sam, Josh, and Alvaro looking down at him. "Whoa… Sammy? Josh and Alvaro too?! What the fuck you doing here?"

"Dude… I just… My car… oh god… My car… it… it just…" he heard him stutter the reply, but was soon silenced when they heard a vehicle coming. Sam quickly got up and ran towards it as the three other boys stood and saw that it was indeed a police cruiser. He saw Charlie come out of the passenger side and a bald officer out of the driver seat. They both pulled out their side arms and aimed it at Sam who was trying to say that he had called them.

However, Charlie wasn't going to have that as he said, "Shut up!"

The teenager quickly went silent as Michael watched his friend walk towards the car and placed his head on the hood. As the bald officer proceeded to cuff him, the officer who accompanied his boss pointed his gun at Josh and Alvaro as the two quickly put up their hands and surrendered themselves peacefully to the authorities. Charlie then went over to Michael and looked around. He then asked, "Dude, where's my dogs?" Michael turned to look at him with shock as he then twiddled his fingers and said, "Uh… you scared them off?"

The officer slapped his own forehead, groaning irritably before he said, "You know what? Just… go back home before I arrest you for breaking your curfew." Michael did a mock salute before speeding home, not wanting to deal with a pissed off policeman. He was mad himself as this was the third job he got fired from on the first day. He really needs to get a solid job soon or he will have a really bad resume in the future.

"And I didn't get to finish my 'Bob Marley'," he whimpered sadly as he continued running, ignoring the fact that the yellow Camaro seemed to be watching him run before heading off into the streets.

_**Home  
>8:55 AM PDT<strong>_

The sound of the phone ringing echoed through the house, making her more annoyed by the noise. Walking lazily down the stairs, Michelle saw the mess that Alvaro and Josh left in the living room. She noted that she was going to their rooms and flipping them over as punishment and also telling them to clean after themselves, after she answered the phone. As she reached the phone in the kitchen, she cleared her throat before answering in a kind tone, "Good morning. May I ask who is calling?"

As she listened to the voice on the other side of the line, Lisa was lazily walking down the stairs as she let out a loud yawn. Rubbing her eyes, she stumbled down the stairs a bit before heading into the kitchen, ignoring Michelle's presence as she went to the refrigerator. As she took out the carton of milk, she placed it on the counter while she went to the pantry to grab a cereal. While choosing for a cereal, she was just about to reach the one called _Cinnamon Toast Crunch_ but stopped when she heard Michelle shouting.

"**You fucking son of a bitches! Not only did you leave a fucking mess before heading out last night, but you got arrested?! I should just let you rot in that jail cell for the rest of this week!**"

Lisa cautiously looked out from the pantry as she saw Michelle literally seething with anger. She slowly went back into the pantry, got the box she wanted, and slowly got out of the closed space. Heading to the fridge, she waited for a few seconds before Michelle shouted, "**You think I can get you out of jail? Don't you remember? I'm only **_**a year**_** older than you, **_**one **_**year! How am I supposed to pull you out of jail?**" Once that was done, the short Filipino quickly pulled out the milk and closed the fridge door gently. She looked up to see Michael entering the room with a face mixed with annoyance and fatigue. He then muttered quietly, "What's her problem?"

Lisa made careful gestures as she mouthed out the words, basically saying that Josh and Alvaro are in jail. Michael began to inaudibly laugh as he slapped the counter while holding his stomach. The two then stopped when Michelle suddenly shout, "**Look!** I'll ask Mr. Witwicky to pick you up since we are technically living under his care… still wondering how you are related to white people, Michael…" The Mexican shrugged as he then proceeded to get some breakfast before starting the day.

Michelle finally hanged up the phone and slowly laid her head on the center counter of the kitchen, letting out a tired sigh. "Why does this kind of stuff have to happen so early in the morning?" she said in a whining tone. Lisa noticed Michael opening his mouth, making him stop with a cutting throat motion. The boy stopped as Michelle lifted her head to look at the clock. She groaned in anger as she stalked towards the stairs, shouting, "**And now I have to head to work so early! Today just keeps getting better and **_**better**_**! Josh is so grounded when he get back!**" Her two friends just let out a laugh before they both went over to the living room to eat their breakfast and watch Cartoon Network.

_**Washington DC  
>Pentagon<br>12:15 PM EDT**_

Tracy watched with great worry as her new computer friend, Maggie, was trying to convince their superiors that this virus that they have obtained just this morning is becoming more dangerous and possibly alien-made. Seeing the desperate look on her friend's face, Tracy suddenly heard a beep in her earpiece. Taking a seat on a nearby chair, she pulled out her iTouch as she scrolled to her texting application. There, she saw the words:

**I doubt any of those old guys will accept that something not from this world had just hacked into their systems.**

Shaking her head, she then typed back, "I know it was a stupid idea, so I guess we need to figure out some alternative options." After she sent it, she waited for an answer as her program then said:

**Well, luckily for us, we can probably try to figure out what that thing took from our archives. Might be a long shot, but it's better than trying to convince a bunch of old guys into thinking this is the work of some alien.**

Tracy smiled at this, but felt a presence in front of her. Looking up, she saw Maggie's face filled with defeat as she said, "They didn't listen. What's worse is that they are thinking that China is the ones who are doing this." Pocketing her iTouch, Tracy stated, "Didn't we already rule out completely that this isn't the work of some Asian government? Sure, they are pretty high tech, but the way that hack thing was done along with an uploading of the virus…" The taller blonde nodded her head as she thought this through. She then looked at where Tracy had put her iTouch as she asked, "You think your program can decipher a signal?"

Just as she was about to answer, the shorter blonde heard a beep in her earpiece again as she reached for her iTouch to see that she received another text message from EMERGE. Opening the app again, she read it and let out a small laugh. Seeing the confusion on Maggie's face, she turned it so that she could read the message:

**Psh! I could probably get that done anytime you want, darling.**

Feeling heat crawling up her face, Maggie let out a cough before she saw another message pop:

**Though I would need the original signal that we recorded and in order to have no corruption, I disconnected Tracy's computer from the internet indefinitely. Though I don't really need internet, I just need the signal.**

Nodding her head, Maggie said, "Okay, I'll get the signal this Wednesday."

_**May 28**__**th**__**, 2007  
>Qatar<br>Village  
>11:59 PM ADT<strong>_

"Keep on running!" he heard Lennox shout as Vince followed the man while pulling Mahfouz behind him. The village was just a click away as they were running for their lives from something that was attacking them from the ground. From what Vince had see, the thing wasn't the same machine that had attacked the base many nights ago. This one was shaped like a scorpion as he had seen the tail jab into the back of his fellow soldier and pulled him into the sands, killing the man.

He felt Mahfouz trip as he then pulled the boy up and carried him the rest of the way, still following the leader as they entered into a house. There, Mahfouz pushed from his grasp and ran to a middle aged man, calling him Papa. He then was pulled up by Lennox as he ordered, "Get outside and assist holding that thing back!" Nodding his head, he readied his FN M240G machine gun, assisting on suppressing fire. He stood with Epps as the man seemed to continuously shout orders along with curse words.

"**Epps!**" shouted a familiar voice as Vince took a quick glance over his shoulder to see Lennox running over to them, holding a cell phone to his ear. "**I need a credit card! Where's your wallet?**"

"**Pocket!**" Vince heard Epps shout in reply as he continued to shoot at the scorpion machine.

"_**Which**_** pocket?**" he heard Lennox stress out irritably, causing him to look back at him with great annoyance.

"**My **_**back**_** pocket!**" Epps shouted, showing that he was equally angered by this line of questioning in the current situation. Vince quickly glanced to see Lennox begin patting the many packs that Epps had on his person. "**You got like **_**ten**_** back pockets!**" Lennox stated in distress, as if whatever phone call he was on was life or death. Well, it might as well be right now. The next words he heard almost nearly made him stop firing to give Epps a look that literally just showed confusion.

"**Left cheek! LEFT CHEEK! **_**LEFT CHEEK!**_"

He then proceeded to keep on shooting when Lennox successfully acquired the credit card, stating it so to the person he was on the phone with. As he continued to fire at the machine that was obviously firing back with more arsenal than they had, he suddenly heard Lennox shout, "**No!** I don't want a premium package!" After a few seconds, he tossed the cell to Epps, stating that it was the Pentagon. Lennox then went over to Vince as he said, "Cover Fig, Price!" Nodding his head, he quickly sprinted to the soldier, sliding so he can hide behind the cover with the man.

"Hey, amigo!" he was greeted by him, getting a short smile before the two continued to fire. Vince felt himself nearly lose time as he seemed so focus on just firing at the metal monster, he didn't see that the sky was darkening, notice he was low on ammo, or hear Lennox order on laser targeting for the E-3 Sentry AWACS that were flying in. The only thing he knew was that the only sound of firing was coming from him as the machine suddenly focused its missiles straight at him. He braced for the impact, only to feel himself be pulled and thrown out of the way. Falling behind a far away cover, he looked up just in time to see the missiles impact where Fig was standing, sending the man flying before landing on the ground hard.

"**Jorge!**" Vince shouted towards the man, ignoring any orders from his comrades as he rushed to his comrade's side. Upon reaching him, he saw that the man was covered in debri and burns. He was in anaphylactic shock as he began to mutter in dread while staring at his burnt hands. "You son of a bitch! Why'd you do that?" he demanded as he looked at the man's body. The guy just laughed as best as he could, spoke in a strained pain voice, "That blast… would have done it."

His eyes widened at those words as he then stated, "That didn't matter! I would have jumped out of the way, or better yet, you wouldn't be in this shit right now! Fuck! That was the stupidest reason to do this!" Cursing again, he looked up to see his comrades running towards them. Donnelly helped him up as Lennox tried his best to fix the man's wounds.

He turned back to see Fig's eyes just staring back at the sky, filled with nothing…

**XxXxX**

**[CA CH1b1DR34M91 has logged in]**

**LipsX69: yay! She's on  
>LipsX69: DON'T LEAVE PLEASE! TT . TT<br>LipsX69: I won't hit on you  
>CA CH1b1DR34M91: …okay<br>LipsX69: yay**

**[Bekuta has logged in]**

**Kamuix1991: Bekuta! You okay?  
>B()A: yeah, where've ya been?  
>LipsX69: did rl get the best of you?<br>Bekuta: no time for chat! Trying upload something!  
>Bekuta: it's big! Hell it's huge!<br>Bekuta: seriously, I mean… I really can't believe anything like this exists!  
>All3n_N1nj4: okay, someone has gone crazy while offline<br>Bekuta: I'm being seirous! This is bigger than anything we have talked about!  
>Kamuix1991: then stop talking or you're gonna mess up your uploading.<br>CA CH1b1DR34M91: what are you uploading, Bekuta?  
>Bekuta: ...<strong>

**[Bekuta has logged out]**

**Kamuix1991: hey, what did I say about talking while uploading?  
>Kamuix1991: fuck! I told him!<br>All3n_N1nj4: looks like he didn't finish the upload… was it a photo?  
>LipsX69: I think so<br>All3n_N1nj4: then that was one hell of a long upload  
>All3n_N1nj4: that shoulda taken like a second<br>All3n_N1nj4: must've been in a sucky connection area  
>LipsX69: maybe his lover got in the way for not caring much about them these days<br>CA CH1b1DR34M91: and this is my cue to leave  
>LipsX69: Wait! NO! DON'T GO!1!<strong>

**[CA CH1b1DR34M91 has logged out]**

_To Be Continued…_


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